A Portland man who was reported missing after he hadn’t been seen since Dec. 20 at Grand Canyon National Park has been found safe.
The National Park Service issued a press release Saturday about a search for Stephen Coleman, 60, who was believed to be hiking in the landmark Arizona park. He had last been seen on the South Rim five days before Christmas.
Stephen Coleman of Portland was last seen on Dec. 20 on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. He was found Sunday, one day after park officials announced he was missing. Photo from National Park Service
Joelle Baird, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service, told the Press Herald early Sunday that because the Grand Canyon is so vast, and the service didn’t have any more specific information on where Coleman might be on the South Rim, it was waiting for more tips to come in before sending a search party into the canyon.
“Just from the South Rim, there are a dozen or more different trails that go into the Grand Canyon,” Baird said. “We need more specific information to narrow the search area.”
A search wasn’t needed. Later in the day, Coleman was located outside the park safe and “in good health,” the park service said in a statement. No other information was provided.
Baird said earlier that park rangers believe Coleman arrived in the Grand Canyon area around Halloween last year and was living a “nomadic” existence while in Arizona. He had been staying with different people in a community of about 2,500 who live in apartments and homes along the South Rim.
She said Coleman left his belongings with a friend on Dec. 20 and told the friend that he was going hiking alone in the Grand Canyon. Coleman never returned for his belongings, and the National Park Service was notified of his disappearance a few days ago, she said.
Baird said she doesn’t know why there was such a long gap between Coleman’s disappearance and reports of him being missing to park officials.
It was not known if Coleman had longtime ties to Portland. Efforts to learn more about him Sunday were not successful.
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